Message from Elders

Message to Church from Elders

Dear Discovery Family,

The advent season is one of great reflection and anticipation. We stand in awe of what God has done and what He has promised to do! And, on Christmas, we celebrate the culmination of His promise to be Immanuel, God with us. Advent is also a time of transition and change — a time in which both Mary and Joseph would surely have reflected on how following the voice of the Lord turned their world upside down; a time in which the Lord Himself turned the tables on human expectation and delivered a Savior, not in a palace but in a barn, and a Messiah born not to lead an army but rather to build a church.

So too, in this advent season, the Lord is leading Discovery to trust him through a period of great change. Our Lead Pastor for the past 10 years, John Richert, has felt the call of God to move away from Discovery and into a new calling. We encourage you to read the message from John about this call, the process leading up to it, and a bit about his hopes for the future. As you read his message, we anticipate you will be filled with a multitude of emotions--excitement for this new season for the Richert family, sadness contemplating the departure of our wonderful lead Pastor, and perhaps curiosity or trepidation about what this means for our church family. While we are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear brother, friend, and pastor, we are also overwhelmed with love for him and his family. So often in ministry you hear stories of pastors leaving ministry due to moral failure or error. The current situation, however, is the exact opposite. Our love for John and his family has only grown as they recognize a new call from the Lord and choose to step out in humble obedience, thereby providing another example of faithfulness for us. And throughout all of this, we your humble elders, have felt an incredible sense of peace. We are deeply confident in Christ, knowing that He has led us, is leading us, and will continue to lead us until one day we meet Him in glory.

No doubt you will have many questions about what will happen next and where the church is headed. We have created a short FAQ document to address some of the logistics involved in this transition and desire for you to read it. It is in no way comprehensive but hopefully it will address some initial concerns. Logistics aside, we want to reassure you that Discovery will continue to faithfully pursue the mission to which God has called us; to meet people where they are and lead them to be disciples of Jesus Christ who make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Discovery Family, we would implore you to pray. Join us in praying for the Richert family as they walk through this exciting and yet potentially anxiety-producing transition. Join us in praying for the church body, that we will be unified by the Holy Spirit and experience deep peace, joy, and excitement at what the Lord is doing. And please pray for us, your elders, that the Lord would strengthen and enable us to lead well through this season.

We will be holding an ‘open house’ on the afternoon of Sunday the 18th at the Downtown Ministry Center. If you would like to talk, to pray, to ask questions, or just to enjoy some good company as you process this transition come down and join us from 2-4pm.